Masking plate for rotary disk knife slicing machines



' H. THOMAS MASKING PLATE FOR ROTARY DISK KNIFE snows MACHINES July 4; 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 16, 1945 Q /ezzr T/Eomas zz ww H. THOMAS MASKING .PLATE FOR ROTARY DISK July 4, 1950 KNIFE SLICING MACHINES 5 Shee ts-Sh eec 2 Filed July 16, 1945 ali/ July 4, 1950 H. THOMAS 2,513,598

MASKING PLATE FOR ROTARY- DISK KNIFE SLICI'IG MACHINES Filed July 16, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented July 4, 1950 MASKING PLATE FOR ROTARY DISK KNIFE SLICING MACHINES Henry Thomas, Chingford, England, assignor to U. S. Slicing Machine Company, Inc., La Porte,

i Ind, a corporation of Indiana Application July 16, 1945,. Serial No-.,605,269 In Great Britain August 21, 1944 13 Claims. 1

This invention relates to slicing machines of the type characterised. by a. knife mask; that is to say, machines having a rotary circular knife formed with a recess, or dished, at its front face. and fronted by a mask plate that fits more or less. the recess and presents an abutment face injthe slicing plane. Againstthis face the meat (or other substance to be sliced) is slidable. In machines of the type stated it is usual to feed the substance stepwise tothe knife in steps whose size is controlled by a gauge, the feed being gravitational or by .sp ringv action or even by manual action, as distinctfrom a mechanical feed including saythe usual-combination of a ratchetand-pawl device with a screw-and-nut device. The mask serves ,toretain the cut face of the substance at the slicing plane after the knife has commenced cutting and until the substance is returned to the gauge.

Usually, although not necessarily, reciprocation of the substance carrier past a knife rotating in a stationary location is effected by a manual push-pull action.

The mask may be simply a disc, that is a circular centre plate, which fits usually stationarily into the recess; or the mask may be part .of a stationary knife guard which shrouds the knife edge, leaving the edge exposed at the slicing station and in some cases also .at a sharpening station. A knife guard incorporating a mask has been proposed and which is turnably adjustable to expose the edge either at the slicing station or at the sharpening station, selectively.

In use of a slicing machine of the type stated fat and other matter from the substance work between the mask and the knife. Therefore the adjacent surfaces of the mask and knife require to be cleaned from time to time and for this purpose the mask must be removed.

It is found that workers arev disinclined to remove the mask for cleaning, the work of removal being too tedious or troublesome, or the parts involved being too inaccessible. Moreover, in the case of a knife guard incorporating a mask the work of removing and replacing the guard involves the risk that the guard may foul the knife edge. 7

An object of the present invention is to provide in a slicing machine of the type stated a mask that is tiltable under mechanical guidance from a position of operative relationship with the knife into a displaced position in which the mask as a whole is spaced apart from the knife so that the adjacent surfaces of the knife and mask are all exposed for cleaning.

Another object is to provide a knife guard incorporating a mask, the guard and mask unit being adjustable between two positions of operative relationship with the knife, namely a slicing positionand a knife-sharpening position, and being movable under mechanical guidance into a displaced position in, which the adjacent surfaces of the knife and mask are exposed for cleaning.

Another object is to provide ,a'unit masking and guarding the knife, a pivotal support in which the unit is rotatably mounted so as to be rotatable into and out of a slicing position, and a locking device ,co-operating with said support to lock the unit in proper masking and guarding relationship with the knife in said position, said device freeing the unit when rotated clearof said position and so permitting the unit and pivotal support to be tilted clear of the knife. Preferably,'s uch a masking and guarding unit is removably mounted in said pivotal support, being removable therefrom when freed of said locking device and tilted clear of the knife.

Another object is to provide a mask that fits into the dished recess in the front face of the knife, in which the mask is; held by two fittings, namely, a pivotal connection of which one member is attachable to the maskand another member is secured to the framework of the machine, and a locking device that locks the mask when inproper masking relationship with the knife to a stationary part of the machine, the arrangement being such that the mask when said device is unlocked is tiltable under the guiding con straint of said pivotal connection into a position spaced clear of the knife to expose for cleaning all of the adjacent surfaces of the knife and mask.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is an end elevation of a gravity feed slicing machine having applied thereto, in accordance with the invention, a knife guard incorporating a mask.

Fig. 2 is a view, partly in section and partly broken away, of the knife guard and associated parts, the section being approximately on the line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of parts viewed in the same direction as in Fig. 2, the section being on the line IIIIII of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of parts 3 viewed in the same direction as in Fig. 1, the section being on the line IVIV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view drawn to a large scale and partly in section of parts viewed in the same direction as in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line VIVI of Fig. 2, the central part of the knife being broken away.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary end elevation of a sheing machine designed for horizontal feed.

Fig. 8 is a corresponding front elevation.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary section drawn to a larger scale than Figs. 7 and 8, the section being approximately on the line IXIX of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary front elevationfof a slicing machine similar to that shown in Fig. 8 but having a different embodiment, of the invention applied to it.

Fig. '11 is a section drawn to a larger scale on line XIXI, Fig. 10; and Fig. 12 is a corresponding end View, partly in section, the section being on the line XII-XII of Fig. 11.

Throughout the drawings, similar or corresponding parts of the different embodiments shown are indicated by the same reference characters.

With reference to Figs. 1 and,2, the gravityfeed machine therein shown comprises a base I, an extension 2 of which constitutes the slice receiver of the machine. The base is provided with a knife bracket 3, which is set at an inclination on a pedestal 3A forming an integral part of the base. The knife 4 of the machine is of a usual circular dished form, being journalled in the The support 6 has a handle III by means of. which the substance carrier is manually recipro- I cated by a push-pull action. The machine also includes a gauge plate I I (shown only in Fig. 2) for determining the thickness of the slices to be cut from the substance by the knife, the plate I I being set parallel to the slicing plane AA of the knife. It will be seen (Fig. 1) that the angle of inclination of the knife 4; and plane AA is complemental to the angle of inclination of the substance carrier. The gauge plate II is adjust-. able in relation to the slicing plane AA to vary r-' the slice thickness, adjustment being effected by a hand knob I2 (Fig. 1) through the intermediary of mechanism which is not shown but which may be of any appropriate construction, various constructions being well known in the art. The machine also includes a slice deflector I3, this being a fitting on the knife guard 3 applied to the back of the knife and adapted todeflect the slices as they are cut in succession to the slice receiver 2 below.

The features so far described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 are already known in relation to gravity feed machines.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 6, as aforesaid the gravity feed machine is provided with a knife guard incorporating a mask. In this embodiment of the invention, the guard and mask constitute a single integral unit I4, the knife guard portion being denoted I 4A and the knife mask portion being denoted MB. The guard and mask unit has the form of a flat circular cover-plate or lid, which constitutes the mask portion MB, with a marginal flange which shrouds the knife edge, and therefore constitutes the guard MA. Fig. 6 shows best how the coverplate is dished to fit into the circuarcuate portion of the knife edge for use, and the flange being cut away throughout a further arc of roughly (angle G, Fig. 2). The coverplate I4 co-operates with a rear housing I5 on the knife bracket to enclose the knife, the flange registering with the housing.

The coverplate I4 is held in place by two fittings, namely: (1) a locking device consisting of an arcuate angle-section bar I 6 (Figs. 3 and 4) on the housing, one flange of which bar has a central opening I! and two oppositely directed slots I8 and I9 leading into said opening; (2) a pivotal support consisting of an arcuate plate 20 with protective flange 2I forming in effect a continuation of the coverplate flange I4A '(see Fig.

3), said plate being connected by a hinge 22 to another plate 23 fixed by screws 24 on the base I of the machine and the axis of the hinge being horizontal and parallel to the slicing plane AA. The hinge 22 is located outside the periphery of the entire coverplate. The coverplate flange I IA has an inwardly extending headed pin 25 to engage one or other of said slots. The hinged arcuate plate 20 has guiding lugs 26, 21 forming recesses in which the coverplate margin is a neat sliding fit. The coverplate flange has outwardly extending knobs 28, 29 for manipulating it. The knob 28 is on the pin 25, and the knob 29 is spaced therefrom. being set at an inclination to facilitate manipulation of the coverplate.

. The plate 23 is curved to form a recess where the base I merges into the knife-bracket pedestal 3A, the plate being flanged at 23A to fit over the pedestal neatly (Figs. 1, 2 and 5). The pin of the hinge 22 is withdrawable having a cranked end 30 by means of which to withdraw it.

In use of the combinedguard and mask, the coverplate of which they are formed is turned into one or other of two positions denoted by the radial lines D and E (Fig. 2) in relation to the knob 28. In position D, the headed pin 25 of the knob 28 occupies the end of the upper slot I8, the coverplate then being securely located in the setting for slicing, in which setting the cut-away arc B exposes the knife edge to the substance. In position E the pin 25 occupies the end of the lower slot I9, the coverplate then being securely located in the setting for sharpening of the knife, in which setting the cut-away arc B is upturned to expose the knife edge above the slicing station for sharpening in the usual way. The coverplate is adjusted from one of said positions to the other simply by-turning it, by use of the hand knobs 28, 29, about the knife axis, the coverplate being under the guidance of the arcuate bar I6 and the lugs 26, 21. In order to expose the adjacent surfaces of the knife and coverplate for cleaning, the coverplate is turned to bring the knob 28 into the intermediate position F, in which the pin 25 registers with the central opening I1, and the coverplate in this setting is tilted frontwise away from the knife under the guidance of the hinge 22 into a sufficiently displaced position, as indicated by dot-dash lines in Fig. I. By virtue of the location of the hinge, the coverplate when tilted stands as a whole spaced apart from the knife, so that all the adjacent surfaces of the knife and coverplate are exposed for cleaning.

If it be desired also to remove the coverplate, this can now be accomplished simply by lifting the coverplate so that its margin is withdrawn from the lugs 26, 21.

if it be desired also to remove the hinged plate 26, one simply withdraws the hinge pin by its cranked end ill] by so doing frees the plate 26 for removal.

In the embodiment described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6 the coverplate is rotatably adjustable between two positions of operative relationship with the knife, namely a slicing position and a knife-sharpening position. In a machine not having the customary means for sharpening the knife, there may be no need for adjustment into a knife-sharpening position, in which event the coverplate is rotatable only far enough from the slicing position to free it from the locking device and so permit it to be tilted clear of the knife.

It will be clear that the work of exposing the knife and coverplate for cleaning (whether there is a knife-sharpening position or not) merely involves two simple motions, namely a turning unlocking motion about the knife axis and a forward tilting motion away from the knife, and that there is no risk of fouling the knife even if the coverplate is removed from the machine.

Referring to the embodiment according to Figs. 7, 8 and 9, the invention is shown therein applied to a machine having a circular dished knife 4 arranged to work in a vertical slicing plane. The knife is shown conventionally as driven by a handflywheel 3! through intermeshing gea'rwheels 32 and 33, the gearwheel 32 being on the flywheelshaft 315 and the gearwheel 33 being on the knifeshaft 4A. The substance carrier is not shown; it may take any suitable form, various forms being well known in the art.

The slicing-machine knife has applied to it a simple example of a mask made as a central disc plate 35, which fits into the circular recess in the front face of the knife. Two fittings again are provided to hold the mask 35 in position, namely: a locking device 3639 applied to a portion 40 of a stationary knife guard Ml, 4| which'shroucls the knife edge except at the slicing station G and the sharpening station E; a pivotal connection comprising aplate 42 to which the mask is attachable and which is connected by a horizontal hinge 43 to another plate 44 that is secured at 45 to the framework of the machine, that is the base I. The hinge is located outside the periphery of the mask 35, as Fig. 8 shows. The locking device comprises a lug 36 on the mask which lug has an inturned forked top 3'! that registers with a hand screw 38 on said portion of the guard and is locked thereto by said hand screw. The lug has an out-turned finger-piece 39 to facilitate manipulation of the mask. The means of attachment between the mask and the plate 42 comprise pins 45 which register with open slots l! in the plate 42.

In order to expose the adjacent surfaces of the knife 4 and mask 35 for cleaning, the hand screw 38 is slackened and the mask is tilted away from the knife under the guidance of the pivotal connection provided by the hinge 43 (as indicated in dot-dash lines, Fig. 7) into a sufficiently displaced position. If it be desired also to detach and remove the mask, this can now be accomplished simply by lifting the mask so that its pins .46 leave the slots 47.

In general, coverplates (each comprising a knife guard-and -mask unit) or sim e centre plates may be hinged at any convenient position. Although in the respective embodiments already described herein with reference to the drawings the coverplate and centre plate are movable under guidance directly away from, and towards, the recessed face of the knife, either or each of them may be pivotally mounted and provided with an inclined guide sufficient to displace the plate from the recessed face of the knife,-say, similarly to the action of a so-called rising butt hinge. Such an arrangement is adopted in the embodiment according to Figs. 10, 11 and 12, in which the slicing machine knife shown has a mask in the form of a centreplate. The slicing machine may be the same as in the previous embodiment (Figs. 7, 8 and 9).

Referring to Figs. 10, 11 and 12, the mask 35 has a handle 48 for its manipulation, and is supported by a lever 49 to which it is secured at 58. The lever has a rising butt hinge comprising the boss SI of the lever and a fulcrum pin 52 on the main knife guard M. The axis of the hinge is perpendicular to the slicing plane of the knife and is located outside the periphery of the mask. A spring 53 on the pin 52 presses the boss 5| against or towards the guard it I. The fulcrum pin 52 has a guide pin 54 which engages a camlike curved sloping guide slot 55 in the boss 5!. The lever co-operates with a sto pin 56 screwed through a small bracket 5! on the guard l l.

The fulcrum pin 52 is made as a set screw that can be screwed more or less into the guard 4| in order to regulate the pressure exerted by the spring 53 on the boss'5l. The stop pin 56 also is adjustable to regulate the setting of the mask 35 in relation to the knife 4.

In order to move the mask 35 away from the knife, the user grasps the handle 48 and lifts the mask counter-clockwise about the fulcrum pin 52. The guide pin 54 and guide slot 55, by virtue of the steep slope or angularity of the slot at the corresponding end thereof, co-operate to displace the lever 49, and mask 35 therewith, firstly in a general direction away from the knife, so that the mask leaves the dished recess in which it is normally located in the front face of the knife. Thereafter, when the mask stands clear in front of the knife, it is tilted sidewise away from the knife into a position such as indicated by the dotdash lines in Fig, 10, the slope of the slot 55 curving away to no angularity so that the mask in its continued sidewise motion ceases to advance from the slicing plane of the knife. When the mask is returned, the levereand-fulcrum d9, 52,

and the pin-and-slot 54, 55 serve to guide it past the guard 4i and knife 4 back into proper masking relationship with the knife.

I claim:

-1. A slicing machine embodying a frame, a circular knife supported on said frame and formed in itsfront face with a circular recess, a mask which when in operative position occupies said recess and guards the knife edge but leaves an arc of the knife edge exposed for use, a fixed pivotal connection between said mask and frame, and a slide connection between said mask and said pivotal connection for enabling the operator to turn the mask about the knife axis into selected angular settings, while said pivotal con" nection remains intact, said pivotal connection being located outside the periphery of said mask so that when said mask is pivoted from the knife about said pivotal connection the mask as a whole is spaced apart from the knife.

2. A slicing machine embodying a frame, a knife supported on said frame and formed in its front face with a circular recess, a mask which when in operative position occupies said recess, a hinge connecting said mask to said frame, said hinge being located outside the periphery of said mask and including two members so that said mask is tiltable frontwise about said connection into an inoperative position spaced apart from the knife, means securing one member of said hinge to said frame, the other member of said hinge including a plate, and means on said plate to slidably and removably receive said mask so that when the mask is in said inoperative position the operator can remove the mask from the machine.

3. A slicing machine embodying a frame, a knife supported on said frame and formed in its front face with a recess, a mask which when in operative position occupies said recess, a hinge connecting said mask to said frame including a stud and a, sleeve surrounding said stud, the axis of said hinge being perpendicular to the slicing plane of the knife and being located outside the periphery of said mask so that when said mask is tilted about said axis the mask as a whole is spaced apart from the knife, and a cam device incorporated in said hinge comprising a pin on said frame received within a cam slot on said sleeve for guiding the mask out of said recess during tilting of the mask about said axis.

4. A slicing machine embodying a frame, a rotary knife carried on said frame and formed with a dished recess in its front face, a unit masking the front face of the knife and guarding its cutting edge, said unit being formed with a cutaway to expose a portion of said edge, a fixed pivotal support for said unit on said frame int which support said unit is rotatably mounted while the pivotal support remains intact, so as to be rotatable into positions including a position in which said cut-away exposes the knife for slicing and a position'in which said cut-away exposes the knife for sharpening, and locking means on the unit and frame co-operating with said support to lock the unit in proper masking and guarding relationship with the knife in either of said two positions, said locking means being adapted to free said unit when rotated clear of said two positions thus enabling the operator to pivot the unit frontwise on its pivotal support clear of the knife.

5. A slicing machine as claimed by claim 4 in which said locking means comprises a projection on said unit and a, device arranged on the slicingmachine frame and formed with locking slots selectively engageable by said projection in said two positions of the unit, said device being also formed with an opening intermediate said slots which opening serves to free said projection from said device when said unit is positioned intermediate said two positions.

6. A slicing machine comprising a frame, a circular knife carried on said frame and formed with dished recess in its front face, a unit masking the front face of the knife and guarding its cutting edge, said unit being formed with a cutaway to expose an arc of said edge, a fixed pivotal support for said unit on said frame in which support said unit is slidably and removably mounted while said pivotal support remains intact, so as to be turnable about the knife axis into positions including a position in which said cut away exposes th knife for slicing and a position in which said cut-away exposes the knife for sharpening, and locking means on the unit and frame co-operating with said support to lock the unit in proper masking and guarding relationship with the knife in either of said two positions, said locking means being adapted to free said unit when turned clear of said two positions thus enabling the operator to pivot the unit frontwise on its pivotal support clear of the knife and to also remove the unit from said support.

7. A slicing machine embodying a frame, a rotary knife carried on said frame and formed with a dished recess in its front face, a unit masking the front face of the knife and guarding its cutting edge, said unit being formed with a cutaway to expose a portion of said edge, a fixed pivotal support for said unit on said frame in which pivotal support said unit is rotatably mounted, so as to be rotatable, while said pivotal support remains intact, into and out of an operative position in which said cut-away exposes the knife for slicing, and locking meanson the unit and frame co-operating with said support to lock the unit in proper masking and guarding relationship with the knife in said position, said looking means being adapted to free said unit when rotated clear of said position thus enabling the operator to move the unit frontwise about the pivot of said support clear of the knife.

8. A slicing machine as claimed by claim 7 in which said locking means comprises a projection on said unit and a device arranged on the slicingmachine frame and formed with a locking slot engageable by said projection in said operative position of the unit, said device being also formed with an opening spaced from said slot which opening serves to free said projection from said device when said unit is rotated out of said position.

9. A slicing machine embodying a frame, a circular knife carried on said frame and formed with a dished recess in its front face, a unit masking the front face of the knife and guarding its cutting edge, said unit being formed with a cutaway to expose an arc of said edge, a fixed pivotal support on said frame, in which support said unit is slidably and removably mounted so as to be turnable, while the pivotal support remains intact, about the knife axis into and out of an operative position in which said cut-away exposes the knife for slicing, and locking means on the unit and frame co-operating with said support to lock the unit in proper masking and guarding relationship with the knife in said position, said locking means being adapted to free said unit when rotated with respect to said support, clear of said position, thus enabling the operator to pivot the unit frontwise on its pivotal support clear of the knife and also to remove the unit from said support.

10. A slicing machine embodying a circular rotary knife having in one face a circular recess, a mask which when in operative position occupies said recess, and means mounting said mask for independent movement in two different planes with respect to the knife, one of said movements being a pivotal movement towards and away from the knife, and the other a shifting movement upon the first said means, and said means adapted to remain stationary during said shifting movement.

11. A slicing machine embodying a circular rotary knife having in one face a recess, a mask which when "in operative position occupies said recess, a pivotally supported mounting for said mask, adapting the mask to be moved towards and away from the face of the knife, and means supporting said mask upon the said mounting and adapting the mask for independent movement with respect to the mounting and in a plane substantially parallel with the cutting plane of the knife.

12. A slicing machine embodying a circular rotary knife having in one face a recess, a mask which when in operative position occupies said recess, a pivotally supported mounting for said mask, adapting the mask to be moved towards and away from the face of the knife, means supporting said mask upon the said mounting and adapting the mask for rotary movement with respect to the mounting, in a plane substantially parallel with the cutting plane of the knife, and about the axis of rotation of the knife as a center, and means detachably securing said mask to the said mounting.

13. A slicing machine embodying a circular rotary knife having in one face a recess, a mask which when in operative position occupies said recess, a pivotally supported mounting for said mask, adapting the mask to be moved towards and away from the face of the knife, means supporting said mask upon the said mounting and adapting the mask for rotary movement with respect to the mounting in a plane substantially parallel with the cutting plane of the knife, and about the axis of rotation of the knife as a center, means detachably securing said mask to the said mounting, and locking means for securing the mask in predetermincd rotated positions with respect to the said mounting.

HENRY THOMAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 959,830 Alden et al May 31, 1910 1,945,269 Freudenberg Jan. 30, 1934 1,978,929 Breaden Oct. 30, 1934 2,052,366 Ahrndt et al Aug. 25, 1936 2,065,352 Streckfuss Dec. 22, 1936 2,065,572 Folk Dec. 29, 1936 

